Helping others to help themselves

event February 07, 2018 15:18

By The Nation

2,559 Viewed

Grab and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have announced a partnership to raise additional funds to support vulnerable communities, including those affected by disasters.

The collaboration will enable Grab users to convert their points into donations to the IFRC. Allowing donations via a smartphone app is a first globally for the IFRC. This is the next chapter of Grab and the IFRC working together to find innovative ways to support the disaster-prone Southeast Asian region, following an earlier partnership in 2016.

“Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions for disasters while a wide number of people are still struggling to access food, safe water, health services or basic livelihoods. Working together with the Red Cross and Red Crescent to fund their programmes and help people in crisis or despair echoes our mission to drive Southeast Asia forward. Grab wants to stand together with IFRC in responding to disasters and making vulnerable people more resilient. Using GrabRewards as a platform makes donating as easy as a tap on your phone. The points our passengers earn from their rides will now give them not just access to a wide range of retail and lifestyle products, but also create a deeper sense of purpose with every ride that they take with Grab,” says Jason Thompson, managing director, GrabPay Southeast Asia.

From February 6 onwards, Grab users in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam can visit their GrabRewards catalogue and convert their points into donations, with just a tap on their everyday app. Grab customers in Thailand can make a donation starting at Bt25 in exchange for 440 GrabRewards points.

Pierre Kremer, IFRC Head of Partnerships for Asia Pacific says, “Grab’s history as a home-grown tech company and its extensive reach across Southeast Asia make it a natural partner for the IFRC. This is the first time we’ve partnered with a smartphone app to raise funds. We have in common a commitment to expand people-to-people connections and solidarity and contribute to build resilient communities, cities and countries. This is the commitment of the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and hundreds of thousands of volunteers working within communities in need. We are excited to work with Grab to explore new ways to tackle suffering and demonstrate the power of humanity in Southeast Asia.”